Lately I have been lusting for some winter/fall season cycling clothes so I have been trying to invent all sorts of excuses to justify my sudden need(*). I need a jacket because my tex jacket has this thick collar that makes it hard to see around, also it flaps a bit in the wind. I need knee warmers (kneekers) because if I wear my cycling shorts, the 40F morning temperatures just freeze my legs to the point where it takes a couple of hours to thaw them up, literally. Also I know that wearing real gear tends to add 0.5 mph to my ground speed. Forsooth, new apparel would mean all the difference between an average speed of 19.7mph and 20.2mph. Also it would make me look cool – well in the way that wearing an orange helmet makes one look cool anyway. In a weak moment I even asked DW if she needed a jersey. That way we could split the shipping.
(*) This sudden need was caused by the jacket being more than 50% off.
Fortunately I came to my senses and cancelled the order. The reason. I’ve been doing fine without it. If I just wear my normal slacks (even jeans), I don’t have to change when I arrive. I actually doubt that I would bother to have to change from cycling gear into office attire if I had the choice. It certainly didn’t happen much during the summer months where I was wearing bermuda shorts and Hawaiian shirts instead of the jersey and cycling shorts I do have. Therefore I conclude that the items on sale are more of a want than a need. In addition going out for training rides as opposed to just commuting will do more for my speed than buying a more aerodynamic jacket.
Check out the discussion in the Ecological capitalism and consumer capitalism post. It’s worth following.
Originally posted 2008-02-15 07:25:51.
